ReadySteadyBlog

I was on the BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning (should you wish, you can "listen again")! I was on at about 8:20 am, talking about blogging...

I had lots to say, of course, but didn't really get the chance to say as much as I would've liked. I wanted to talk a bit about my work at The Book Depository, I wanted to mention BritLitBlogs, I wanted to say how fab This Space is ... but I never really got a chance.

Never mind: I'll be going over the same ground at length again this evening at the Oxford Literary Festival where dovegreyreader and I will be discussing Blogging the Classics with John Mullan and John Carey.

I heard you on the radio. Very well done and great repetition of the name of this blog site which stayed in my head long enough to write it down.I loved the way you won over the interviewer! Will visit again.PS what does polemic mean?

Good point well made Lee! :-) Thanks for placing the Tiny URL link to the post on Measurement Matters, Metrica's PR Measurement blog. It's an interesting topic and we look forward to following it closely. Well done to Mark this morning on the radio - really interesting conversation. Cheers, Richard

When the presenter asked about credentials and the entitlement to judge, I wanted Mark to say that blogs win their own credentials and entitlement, which is what makes it such a dynamic form. Unfortunately he's not a ventriloquist's doll.

I also heard you on Radio 4 this morning and was interested enough to check out the page - have never blogged before. I think it was the metaphor about the archipelegos that caught me - certainly won the argument!

Well done Mark. I concur with the others about credentials. Fortunately you were able to quickly respond with 'acceptable' qualifications...otherwise I suspect the questioner and other guest's smugness might have been difficult to listen to...this is unfortunate...what entitles one to judge: a big, well read (in primary and secondary sources) brain, and an ability to write and argue well. Passion and enthusiasm don't hurt either. The challenge is to find this judgment...your site is a great help in this regard. Thanks, and hope the evening session goes well.

Well done! You did an excellent job of pointing out the necessity of discernment in evaluating the blogosphere, the fallacy of making generalizations about litblogs, and the need for more and diverse voices in discussions about books. I look forward to hearing how last night went!

I also listened to Radio 4 yesterday morning and pricked up my ears as I listened to competing credentials for writing literary criticism. I write on animation for my own blog though my qualifications and professional career more properly are related to books. I'm also not strident in my writing, not polarised; I write because I enjoy writing, pure and simple. Also I get to hear from interesting folk about interesting things. Should you choose to sit back and have a break from reading pop along to my non-competitive, non-strident, hopefully informative Animation Blog. (http://www.animationblog.org/) I've clicked your site as a "favourite" by the way.

I'm afraid I didn't hear the progrgamme, but it might have been amusing to have drawn attention to a certain book called The Intellectuals & the Masses, and accusations of elitism therein, and the irony of such an author's presumed position regarding having to prove one's credentials within the hierarchies of a system so as to have an opinion of validity. It's essentially the master-slave dynamic, where the slaves are told to know their status.Though naturally there is no irony as Carey's intent with I & the M was utterly transparent in the first place. Treat people as slaves & pretend this is showing them respect. Dostoevsky's Legend of the Grand Inquisitor dynamic.

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